Dr. Virender Kumar Saini of Weston, MA, a highly regarded cardiothoracic surgeon passed away on April 26 following a brief illness. He was 86 years old.

Dr. Saini attended King Edward Medical College and trained in cardiothoracic surgery in the US and Canada before returning to his native India where he established one of its leading cardiothoracic surgery programs at the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh. In 1969 he was recruited by the University of Toronto. Soon after, he joined the faculty at Boston University Medical School as an Assistant Professor of Surgery. Starting in 1976 he worked primarily at Carney Hospital where he served as the Chief of Thoracic Surgery, the Surgical Director of its Intensive Care Unit and was a member of its Medical Executive Committee. In 1991 The Carney Hospital Foundation recognized his dedication to patient care by awarding him the Seton Award.

Boarded in general and thoracic surgery, Dr. Saini published over 40 peer reviewed articles in leading journals including The New England Journal of Medicine, Circulation and Annals of Surgery. He was a member of the Boston Surgical Society, The American Society of Thoracic Surgery, The American College of Surgeons, The American Trauma Society and Massachusetts Medical Society.

Dr. Saini was very active in community service. He was a founding member of the Indian Medical Association of New England and served on its Board of Trustees. He also was a member of the Needham Rotary Club which honored him with its Harris Fellowship. A long time resident of Needham, he also served on the Board of trustees of Glover Memorial Hospital.

Keeping with his passion to serve others, in 1987 he co-founded and until his death served as the Chairman of Project Pacer International (PPI), a non-profit organization dedicated to providing cardiac devices to underserved communities in developing countries. As a PPI team-member he regularly travelled to Bolivia, Argentina, Ecuador, China and India where in concert with local physicians implanted pacemakers in needy patients and donated monitoring equipment to local hospitals. Project Pacer International was cited by Governor Weld for its community work.

Dr. Saini leaves behind his wife of 61 years, Manorama, three children, Sanjay, Ajay and Meera and eight grandchildren, as well as two younger brothers, Surinder and Mohinder and two younger sisters Urmila and Bimla.

|